Manager, Insurance Services Operations

How will your role impact First Command?

The Insurance Operations Manager oversees the daily functions of the Insurance Operations department, which supports the processing of Life Insurance, Long Term Care, and Disability Income. The manager is responsible for driving the business growth of the department through effectively responding to the needs of our clients, advisors, and team. The manager is responsible for overseeing a team of associates who carry out daily business operations and minimize risks to the company's finances, operations, compliance, and reputation.  Recognize and prioritize processing time-sensitive transactions while optimizing non-deadline sensitive processing and research. Manager is further responsible for identifying and supporting deadline-sensitive processing of New Business by the end of monthly closeout. The Manager will provide insurance processing guidance and training to Insurance Operations Associates in addition to supporting our Advisors and Office Staff on all insurance operational issues.  The manager effectively delegates tasks with clearly defined responsibilities.  Foster a collaborative environment working with Advisors, office staff and other home office departments including Compliance, Customer Service, Advisor Operations, Financial Services, and Technology. Additionally, you may take part in the organization and the department as a member of an Agile Release Train, shared services, or subject matter expert in innovation initiatives in service, operations, and technology.  You will impact the organization by maintaining flexibility and learning additional new skills.

What will you be doing?

• Manage team resources and ensure team performance conforms to regulatory requirements and meets department productivity and quality standards.
• Work collaboratively with management staff to set priorities, monitor activity and ensure completion of work.
• Perform regular review of teamwork practices to ensure quality and compliance with internal and regulatory standards.
• Critically think beyond day-to-day operations and analyze a variety of factors and metrics when making decisions for the department.
• Provide guidance to Insurance Services Operations Associates, Advisors and Office Staff on compliance with product rules, procedures, First Command SOP’s and regulatory requirements related to all transactions processed by the Insurance Services Operations team.
• Support the development of Associates to ensure their continued growth through the use of training and development, regularly scheduled coaching and feedback and performance evaluations.
• Identify, research, and communicate Opportunities for Improvement.
• Responsible for the management of timely and accurate support of all inquiries via mail, phone calls, and the email Inbox.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key contacts at our Independent Marketing Organizations and Carriers to assist with problem resolution of inforce and pending insurance issues from an Operational standpoint.

What skills/qualifications do you need?

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, business administration, or related area or equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.
• 3 years coaching, supervising, and managing a small to mid-size team.
• 5 – 10 years of experience Insurance Operations specifically business products including Life Insurance, Universal Life, Long Term Care, Disability Income and Hybrid Insurance products s(required)
• Customer Service experience (required)
• Life & Health Group I Ins. License (required)

Additional Abilities

• General knowledge of financial planning industry
• Strong communication, interpersonal skills, and time management skills (required)
• Problem-solving skills with the ability to analyze trends and identify and communicate problems or concerns.
• Demonstrate confidence, skill, and professionalism needed to resolve critical issues in a manner that strengthens the client relationship and mitigates risk for the firm.
• Knowledge of Agile and /or Lean methodology
• Executes with a sense of urgency, a drive to make an impact, and a high level of self-confidence.
• Must be able to work well in high pressure situations and elevated workloads.
• Desire and ability to contribute within a highly collaborative team setting actively and positively.
• Curiosity and demonstrated ability to acquire new skills, knowledge, and abilities.
• Willingness to remain responsive and flexible in a dynamic environment and support team’s deliverables.
• Ability to engage partners internally and externally in a professional and productive manner to maintain a high level of performance and service.

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